Act II: Therapist
On my final Sunday at the church where I had worked for 18 years, I shook hands and received people’s deep love and best wishes. There were also apathetic nods, wordless tears, and even some passive aggressive barbs. Being human is complicated.
None of their reactions surprised me, but each, in their own way, validated my departure, igniting my excitement for my internship in clinical mental health counseling at Centered Therapy & Wellness. While I didn’t entirely know what I was doing, I knew it was the correct ‘lane shift’ for me to make within the helping professions.
In pastoral ministry, I met people in their joys, heartbreak, and longing. I heard the stories of family estrangement, addiction, and abuse. I saw their waves of depression and anxiety. I listened and provided space for lament, pain, and grief to be expressed. I held questions and affirmed curiosity. I became very comfortable with death and hard news. I heard these stories in emergency rooms and committee meetings, in hallways as we passed by, and in assembly lines as we served our neighbor.
About five years ago, I had a feeling that it was time to shift my attention within my work life. I wanted to provide focused opportunities for people’s stories to be told, emotions acknowledged and processed. I also knew that I wanted to learn more about using evidence based therapeutic practices to support effective treatment. I wanted to provide people with space for deeper understanding and unconditional support, while equipping them with practical mental health tools.
In May of 2025, I graduated and became a licensed professional counselor. Looking back on the 300 or more hours of client care during my internship, most of those sessions had no mention of faith, religion, the Bible, or Christianity. Many clients wouldn’t know I was a pastor or that I had any connection to a particular denomination. I follow where my client’s story leads us. As I develop my skills as a counselor, it’s hard to not weave in my experiences of pastoral care. While I’m not someone who will quote scripture to you, what I do bring into every session is my belief that humans are created to have inherent worth, dignity and value just by being ourselves. I bring my hope for healing and wholeness. I’m able and willing to explore how their faith might be life-giving. I’m also able to shine a light on how faith or church life may be used to hurt us or used as a tool of abuse.
I hope to bring a sense of incredible gratitude into each session. This is a universal theme over the span of my career and education. It’s an honor to be with people and get to do what I think is the holy work of accompanying them in their lives. We all want to be heard, seen, and known. I’ve always believed this is the foundational step in building wholeness and healing.
-Heather, LPC
